Are any stock markets cheap going into 2021? January 27, 2021 Where is the value in stock markets today? This is a difficult question to wrestle with. At face value, the bad news is that everywhere looks to be at nosebleed-red levels of expensiveness. Of the 25 measures in our regular stock market valuation grid below (five markets and five measures for each), 16 are more [...]
Taper Tantrum 2: is there a sequel in the making? January 26, 2021 Sequels – occasionally they’re better (The Godfather Part II), but most of the time they’re worse. Often far worse (Jaws: The Revenge). As investors and economists look for the next market risks after the pandemic, some are now expecting a follow-up to 2013’s blockbusting Taper Tantrum. This sequel could even be coming to (trading) screens [...]
The City View: Steve Hawkes and Susannah Streeter January 24, 2021 City A.M. Acting Editor Andy Silvester speaks to two media heavyweights to look at the week to come on both sides of the Atlantic. Susannah Streeter looks at big updates from Apple and Tesla, whilst Steve Hawkes – formerly Sun City Editor and once upon a time 25/1 shot to become the next Bank of [...]
John Lewis repays government loan after strong festive period January 22, 2021 John Lewis has announced it will pay back its £300m government loan almost two months early after a better-than-expected festive period. The John Lewis Partnership announced it would pay back £300m of the government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility which was due to be repaid in March of this year. Under the CCFF, the Bank of [...]
Lloyd’s lures Aviva’s MD for new chief of markets role January 22, 2021 Lloyd’s said this morning it has created a new chief of markets role which will oversee performance and distribution at the insurance giant. Patrick Tiernan has been hired for the position once he has seen out his current stint as managing director at Aviva, where he was previously chief financial officer. Tiernan has 24 years [...]
Vaccine hopes fail to inject consumer confidence during lockdown January 21, 2021 The nation’s largest ever vaccination programme failed to buoy UK consumer confidence during the latest national lockdown, a new survey has shown, as widespread gloom about current Covid restrictions prevailed into the New Year. The closely-watched consumer confidence index from researcher GfK fell two points to minus 28 in January after a slight uptick over [...]
FTSE 100 sinks as Biden rally runs out of steam January 21, 2021 The FTSE 100 slid today as markets around the world stepped back from new highs after a brief rally on Joe Biden’s swearing in as the 46th President of the United States. After a late surge saw it pick up 0.4 per cent yesterday, London’s leading index gained 0.2 per cent this morning to hit [...]
Exclusive: ‘Banks should deliver the same experience as Amazon and Netflix’, says Ezbob CEO January 21, 2021 After a year that was hugely disrupted by Covid-19 and the entire economy and its workforce moved online, City A.M. sat down with Tomer Guriel, CEO of Mayfair-based Ezbob, which provides digital lending software to some of the biggest banks and financial institutions in the City. A vaccine is being rolled out, so the City [...]
Pound sterling at highest point against the US dollar in 2.5 years January 21, 2021 Pound sterling at highest point against the US dollar in 2.5 years
FCA mulls price cap on claims management company fees January 21, 2021 Consumers could save nearly £10m a year in claims management company (CMCs) fees as the regulator considers a price cap on the fees they charge for financial products. The Financial Conduct Authority took over the regulation of CMCs, which handle PPI and payday loans, from the Ministry of Justice in April 2019. The watchdog has [...]